Love, whether newly born, or aroused from a deathlike slumber, must always create sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance, this it overflows upon the outward world.
Nathaniel HawthorneRead
The only sensible ends of literature are, first, the pleasurable toil of writing; second, the gratification of one's family and friends; and lastly, the solid cash.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Literature serves multiple purposes: it should be enjoyable to create, fulfill our relationships, and can also be a source of income.
In this quote, Nathaniel Hawthorne outlines three primary motivations for engaging in literature: the joy and effort involved in the writing process itself, the desire to provide satisfaction and pride to one's family and friends, and the practical benefit of earning money through writing. This highlights the balance between passion, personal relationships, and financial rewards in the literary pursuit.
Themes
LiteratureWritingJoyFamilyMoney
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the value of creativity, one might quote Hawthorne to emphasize the importance of passion over profit.
More from Nathaniel Hawthorne
All quotes βA bodily disease which we look upon as whole and entire within itself, may after all, be but a symptom of some ailment in the spiritual part.
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All merely graceful attributes are usually the most evanescent.
Nathaniel HawthorneRead
There is so much wretchedness in the world, that we may safely take the word of any mortal professing to need our assistance; and, even should we be deceived, still the good to ourselves resulting from a kind act is worth more than the trifle by which we purchase it.
Nathaniel HawthorneRead
Let men tremble to win the hand of woman, unless they win along with it the utmost passion of her heart! Else it may be their miserable fortune, when some mightier touch than their own may have awakened all her sensibilities, to be reproached even for the calm content, the marble image of happiness, which they will have imposed upon her as the warm reality.
Nathaniel HawthorneRead
The thing you set your mind on is the thing you ultimately become.
Nathaniel HawthorneRead
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